BetLucky Sportsbook Review

BetLucky Sportsbook launched in December 2018 as the first mobile betting app to be licensed in West Virginia. Gaming hospitality company Delaware North operates Bet Lucky as a part of a wider partnership with sportsbook software company Miomni and is expected to expand into additional states as legislation permits.

Update and Warning:

BetLucky WV suddenly ceased operations on March 7th after an unspecified contract dispute between Miomni and a third-party vendor contracted to provide services to Miomni. The BetLucky app along with the sportsbooks at Mardi Gras and Wheeling Island are not accepting new customers at this time.

You can read more in our post on the matter here. The sudden closure of BetLucky with little warning and few details offered in the immediate aftermath is concerning to say the least. BetLucky has not provided an estimate as to when the app will reopen for business. Even after BetLucky does reopen, players should note the lack of answers provided to customers when BetLucky suddenly stopped operating.

BetLucky Parent Company Delaware North has since initiated a lawsuit against Miomni over the issue.

BetLucky

BetLucky

Bet Lucky launched as the first mobile sportsbook in West Virginia in December of 2018 by Delaware North, which operates the Wheeling Island and Mardi Gras casinos. While there is some room for improvement, Bet Lucky covers all the basics of sports betting and is licensed to operate in WV.

Pros

Mobile sportsbook that accepts wagers from anywhere in WV

Licensed and legal in WV

Pre-game and in-play betting offered

Very competitive betting lines

Cons

Does not accept bets on a wide range of international sports

Unimpressive loyalty program

Could use more betting options on individual games

Overall Rating

Sports Covered

Variety of Bet Types Offered

Ease of Use

Juice - Competitiveness of Lines

BetLucky Info

For now, you must be 21 or older and physically present in West Virginia to place real money wagers through the BetLucky app. Residents of other states are welcome to sign up for an account to try the app and see the odds but are restricted from placing wagers until BetLucky launches in other states.

You can get started by visiting BetLucky.com for links to the app, which is available for iOS and Android. BetLucky is still brand new as of this review and does not yet offer a desktop betting interface, but that could very well change in the future because WV gaming law is not limited specifically to mobile sports betting.

BetLucky West Virginia is associated with two land-based casinos operated by Delaware North: Wheeling Island and Mardi Gras Casino.

In fact, you’ll find two different versions of the app if you search for “BetLucky” in the app store. Both instances of the app look and function almost exactly the same aside from one featuring the Wheeling Island logo and one featuring the Mardi Gras logo.

The only real difference between the two is the Wheeling Island version offers a rewards program while the Mardi Gras version does not. Aside from that, today’s BetLucky review applies equally to both instances of the app. They are completely identical at this time apart from branding imagery and the loyalty program.

BetLucky Bonus

First Bet Doubled for up to $20 in Bonus Money

Bet Lucky is offering a welcome bonus for all new customers as an incentive to download the app, make a deposit and place their first real money wager. In doing so, you’ll get a bonus equal to the size of your first wager.

For example, placing your first wager of $10 will get you an extra $10 while a first wager of $20 will get you an extra $20. The bonus money itself may not be withdrawn, but anything you win by wagering the bonus is yours to keep.

No special bonus code is needed to claim this bonus. Just sign up for an account and place your first wager to claim your bonus.

BetLucky VIP Program

Wheeling Island Casino and the BetLucky App offer a shared customer loyalty program called the Lucky North Club.

Every wager you place in-person at the casino or through the Wheeling Island version of BetLucky gets you loyalty points that can be exchanged for cash back, food discounts, concert tickets, hotel rooms, access to special events and more.

Points are accumulated as follows:

Every $10 wagered through the BetLucky app: 1 point

Every $5 wagered on slots and racing at Wheeling Island: 1 point

Every $10 wagered on table games at Wheeling Island: 1 point

Every 100 points is worth $1 in Lucky North rewards. In short, this means every $1,000 wagered on sports through BetLucky is good for $1 worth of rewards.

Note: the Mardi Gras instance of the BetLucky app does not have a rewards program at this time.

Sports Covered and Types of Wagers Offered

BetLucky appears to be focused exclusively on North American sports at this time, and the app currently only accepts wagers on sports that are in-season at the moment. For example, the BetLucky app only offered wagers on football (NFL and NCAA), basketball (NBA and NCAA) and NHL when it launched in December.

There were no signs of international sports or even futures on other North American sports when BetLucky went live at the end of 2018. The selection is relatively paltry at this time, but keep in mind the app is still in its early stages.

We do expect to see more sports offered in the near future. BetLucky runs on software provided by Miomni, which is experienced in sports betting. Other Miomni clients include some of the biggest sportsbooks in Las Vegas along with the likes of Boyd Gaming and Paddy Power.

Speaking of Miomni, we should note that in March 2018, Miomni suddenly stopped providing services to BetLucky due to a contract dispute of some sort between Miomni and a third-party service provider.

This caused the BetLucky app and the sportsbooks as Mardi Gras and Wheeling Island to suddenly stop accepting wagers with no advance warning. Customers were given few answers during the initial days of the outage, which should be noted for as long as Miomni remains the sportsbook’s software provider.

There is no question Miomni has the ability to offer a wider selection of sports, so it will be no surprise to see BetLucky increase its coverage in the near future. In the meantime, be prepared to be limited mostly to the major North American sports.

Regarding types of wagers offered, BetLucky covers the very basics and not much else. For example, visiting the section dedicated to an upcoming Lions vs. Packers game gave me three options:

Moneyline wager on who would win the game

Point spread on who would win

Point total (over/under)

BetLucky also supports custom parlays and round robins. As you add wagers to your betting slip, you can tap the “betting slip” icon at the bottom of the screen to show your current pending wagers. From there, you can select bet amounts or for each individual wager or combine your wagers into parlays and round robins.

For comparison’s sake, betting sites launched so far in New Jersey sometimes offer hundreds of different wagers for a single game. BetLucky provides the most important types of wagers, but there is clearly some work to be done here – especially as other gaming companies enter West Virginia and challenge BetLucky for market share.

Moving back to a more positive note, the lines at BetLucky are surprisingly competitive. Even when BetLucky launched as the only mobile sportsbook in WV, a good number of the betting lines were better for customers than the lines offered at some of New Jersey’s best sportsbooks.

In-Play Betting

Interestingly, BetLucky has more in-play betting options than it does for standard pre-game wagers. If a game is in progress and you open the BetLucky app, you’ll find a fairly large variety of in-game wagers that can be placed during the game.

For example, BetLucky offered the following in-play wagers during a recent college football game:

Game total

Alternate game total

Home team and away team totals

Point spreads on money lines on who will win

1st quarter result

First team to score 5, 20 or 25 points

The in-play betting interface is responsive and easy to use but does not offer statistics beyond the current score and quarter. It would be a significant improvement if BetLucky also provided info such as a live game clock, who has possession, the outcomes of each play and so on.

BetLucky also lacks an early cash out feature at this point. Other sportsbooks with this feature allow users to close their bets early in order to lock in a win or cut their losses while there’s still time on the clock.

BetLucky Mobile App

The BetLucky app has some strong points as well as some areas with obvious room for improvement. On the positive side, the app runs beautifully with quick loading times and simple, straightforward navigation. Getting around between the various sports and types of wagers is a piece of cake.

Downloading and installing the Bet Lucky is as easy as downloading any other app. iOS users can get the app straight from the App Store, but Android users will need to visit BetLucky.com to download the app directly due to the Google Play store still prohibiting sports betting apps.

Once the app is installed, it will walk you through a simple getting started process that takes just a few minutes at most. BetLucky mobile also supports thumb-print logins so you don’t have to enter your password every time you open the app.

On the negative side, the app is a bit too simplistic in some ways. In particular, the lack of early cash outs and small number of wagers offered for individual games stop BetLucky from reaching its full potential as an online sportsbook.

The good news is improvements are likely underway as we speak. We jumped on this review within a day of the app’s launch and it would only be natural that Delaware North chose to start with the basics at this early stage before diving in to more advanced wagering options.

Additionally, Luisa Woods of Delaware North stated on launch day that BetLucky “was designed to flexible” and hinted at “innovative features designed specifically to engage and entertain U.S. sports fans.” Those words seem to indicate Delaware North has bigger plans in store.

BetLucky Screenshots

Deposit Methods

BetLucky launched with a healthy selection of deposit methods from day one, but most require first enrolling for Play+, which is a prepaid Discover debit card. Signing up is free and funds can be uploaded electronically before being transferred to your gaming account.

Once you’re enrolled, you can upload funds immediately with your own Visa, Mastercard or Discover credit/debit card while you wait for your physical Play+ card. Then, you can use your Play+ card to receive cashouts, make purchases anywhere Discover is accepted and for cash withdrawals at ATMs.

BetLucky also accepts eChecks through Play+ and PayNearMe for cash deposits.

After you receive your physical Play+ card in the mail, you’ll also be able to use that as a debit card to make purchases and cash withdrawals.

Minimum deposit: $10

State-Specific Restrictions

BetLucky only operates in West Virginia at this time.

BetLucky parent company Delaware North also operates casinos and racetracks in Illinois, New York, Arkansas, Ohio, Arizona and Florida.

Some of these states are almost sure shots to gain legal sports betting in the near-to-medium future and may eventually join the list of states served by BetLucky.